Thursday, January 20, 2011

January Bee Blocks

January bee blocks are in the books. (Although not quite yet in the mail. Soon enough!)

Do. Good StitchesFor my first month with Do. Good Stitches (a charity bee), I got to make Mod Mosaic blocks ... for Ms. Mod Mosaic herself, Elizabeth Hartman. I was pretty excited when I found out I'd be sending blocks to Elizabeth. I've probably learned more from her blog and tutorials than from any other single blogger. And I'm always inspired by her incredible designs.

Elizabeth asked for blocks in wintery shades of blue and gray, with at least one bright solid thrown in. And I just love how these turned out. Mod Mosaic is now on my short list of blocks to request when it's my month in my other bees. But in the meantime, I get to send these two off to Elizabeth to include in a quilt for Wrap Them In Love—how cool! Here's Elizabeth's Mod Mosaic tutorial if you'd like to try out this block for yourself.

{Sew} Beautiful BeeYou saw my trial run here. Now here's the real deal for Cherie. I loved working with the Soul Blossom prints, especially in this design. But I struggled a bit with appliqueing the dresden onto the background fabric. It just didn't want to lie flat, no matter what I did. I didn't have this issue with my practice dresden—maybe because I was sewing it onto a background that was already quilted? Maybe because I was using a blanket stitch instead of straight? I don't know.

At any rate, I hope this one's okay with Cherie. And yesterday I spotted this dresden, made by Julie at Jaybird Quilts. It looks fairly equivalent to mine, which made me feel much better about my block! If a dresden made by the talented Julie isn't lying quite flat either, then mine must be acceptable, right? : )

String Me AlongI got to do a lovely string x block for Linda, using some of her fun scraps. This block is gigantic—18" square—and came together much quicker and more easily than I thought it would. Another great block design to have under my belt.

10 comments:

Awesome blocks, especially those for Do Good Stitches - what is that bright blue you used for your solid? I really love it. I also really love those Erin McMorris bikes, they're so cute :) I had the same problem with the dresdens, but once you wash them, they look perfect, so no worries. BTW, you totally rocked that String X block, it lined up way better than mine!

I really like all three of these! I was surprised too about how quickly the string X block came together, especially for being such a big block in the end! I'm with Elizabeth, yours lined up much nicer than mine!

I was already planning to do the mosaic block when my month comes around in String Me Along, but that's not until February 2012!

You could try fusing the dresden down first. You can even use glue stick or pins. If something seems really wonky, then you may have to adjust a seam or two. Thanks for the Binding 123 tutorial compliment! And it was so nice to see your fave on Gen X! You always look so happy Lee! ; ) I'm on a mission to get my studio as junk-free as yours!! : )

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